I refer to the letter Al-Aqsa mosque: Israel has no right to bar Muslims about Dr Mahathir Mohamad's attempt to visit to the said mosque.

I thought the reason why Dr M was not allowed into Israel was very simple. My Malaysian passport says: 'This passport is valid for all countries except Israel'. I would expect Dr M's passport to contain a similar statement, hence he being prevented from entering Israel. He should know better having being the former minister of Home affairs which issues Malaysian passports.

Any Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Jew or Hindu with a Malaysian passport who sought to get into Jerusalem would be treated similarly. Unless, of course, a special permit is obtained beforehand.

The writer asked our prime minister to bring the matter to the Organisation of Islamic Conference. I would have thought the PM and his cabinet could just remove the prohibition on Malaysians going to Israel, without making a big fuss in the international arena over the barring of Dr M.

This would effortlessly solve the problem of all Malaysians who are keen to visit the historical land of Jerusalem.